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Is not most energy consumed in places that are not dry and sunny? On account of the correlation between clouds, rain, irrigation and people. This was T. Boone'

by chancho 17y ago

Is not most energy consumed in places that are not dry and sunny? On account of the correlation between clouds, rain, irrigation and people. This was T. Boone's mistake: overestimating the portability of electricity.

lliiffee 17y ago
I believe that (expensive, politically problematic) high voltage DC lines can transmit electricity across the US (or europe, or china) with minimal losses. The more serious problem may be that the sun doesn't shine 24 hours a day. Though that can probably be tackled by charging all our electric cars during the day, building dams for pumped storage, charging different rates for electricity at different times, etc. So, if solar has a cost per KWH the same as coal, it will hugely expand, but it won't put coal out of business unless it becomes even cheaper (or coal becomes more expensive).
- nir 17y ago
  German companies are investing $555 billion on a huge solar farm in the Sahara to supply electricity back to Europe: http://www.solarfeeds.com/recharge-news/7540-german-group-to-take-lead-on-sahara-solar-power-farming.html http://www.solarfeeds.com/recharge-news/7540-german-group-to...
- jjs 17y ago
  > The more serious problem may be that the sun doesn't shine 24 hours a day. Can someone in the Eastern hemisphere confirm this? ;-)
jackmoore 17y ago
T.Boone's mistake was backing McCain in the presidential election. I lost trust in him when he was willing to back policies that were polar opposite to what he claims to be in favor of.
jberryman 17y ago
Based on a quick glance at the data here: http://www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/states/hf.jsp?incfile=sep_sum/plain_html/sum_btu_1.html http://www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/states/hf.jsp?incfile=sep_sum/pl... Florida, Texas, and California seem to be the leaders of the energy-use pack by a large margin (making up ~25% of the nation's energy consumption). In my mind those three are the sunniest of states, leading me to the very unscientific conclusion that most energy IS consumed in dry/sunny places.
- pcarmichael 17y ago
  They are certainly sunny states, but they also account for ~25% of the nation's population. California, Texas, and Florida have the 1st, 2nd, and 4th largest state populations respectively. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_U.S._states_by_population http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_U.S._states_by_populati...

by chancho 17y ago

lliiffee 17y ago

I believe that (expensive, politically problematic) high voltage DC lines can transmit electricity across the US (or europe, or china) with minimal losses. The more serious problem may be that the sun doesn't shine 24 hours a day. Though that can probably be tackled by charging all our electric cars during the day, building dams for pumped storage, charging different rates for electricity at different times, etc. So, if solar has a cost per KWH the same as coal, it will hugely expand, but it won't put coal out of business unless it becomes even cheaper (or coal becomes more expensive).

nir 17y ago
German companies are investing $555 billion on a huge solar farm in the Sahara to supply electricity back to Europe: http://www.solarfeeds.com/recharge-news/7540-german-group-to-take-lead-on-sahara-solar-power-farming.html http://www.solarfeeds.com/recharge-news/7540-german-group-to...
jjs 17y ago
> The more serious problem may be that the sun doesn't shine 24 hours a day. Can someone in the Eastern hemisphere confirm this? ;-)

jackmoore 17y ago

T.Boone's mistake was backing McCain in the presidential election. I lost trust in him when he was willing to back policies that were polar opposite to what he claims to be in favor of.

jberryman 17y ago

Based on a quick glance at the data here: http://www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/states/hf.jsp?incfile=sep_sum/plain_html/sum_btu_1.html http://www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/states/hf.jsp?incfile=sep_sum/pl... Florida, Texas, and California seem to be the leaders of the energy-use pack by a large margin (making up ~25% of the nation's energy consumption). In my mind those three are the sunniest of states, leading me to the very unscientific conclusion that most energy IS consumed in dry/sunny places.

pcarmichael 17y ago
They are certainly sunny states, but they also account for ~25% of the nation's population. California, Texas, and Florida have the 1st, 2nd, and 4th largest state populations respectively. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_U.S._states_by_population http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_U.S._states_by_populati...